Want to know more about that mysterious Minecraft Dripstone cave you’ve stumbled across? Or perhaps you haven’t and you want to know how to find one. The dripstone cave, and it’s greener sister the Lush cave, were new underground biomes added with the long-awaited Caves and Cliffs update. The update completely overhauled the sandbox game, adding these unique biomes for the first time, extending the world height (both up and down), and changing the way you mine.
Already one of the best PC games of all time, Minecraft players return year after year for the huge content updates that Mojang Studios put out – and let’s not forget the Minecraft 1.20 release date is coming soon. Caves and Cliffs might have been one of the most game-changing, making mining and caving considerably more dangerous, but it also made it more jaw-dropping – there’s nothing quite like stumbling across an expansive Dripstone cave. So here’s everything you need to know about the new biome, and the new blocks found within it.
Minecraft Dripstone cave biome
Like any of the Minecraft biomes, dripstone caves can be found pretty much anywhere, so it’s not that simple to say how to find out. However, dripstone caves are less likely to spawn near the ocean or coast, so it’s best to make sure you’re inland before you go hunting around underground for these stunning caves.
Dripstone caves can also vary in size, so you may find yourself in one without realising. They are the only place that dripstone blocks and pointed dripstone spawn though, so see any of those and you’ll know where you are.
The easiest way to seek out one of the caves though is actually looking overground. Since caves often have openings over ground, lush caves and dripstone caves can often be spotted this way. While you have to cover more area to find one, it’s easier than mining or caving for miles, and you can do other things while you look.
Dripstone blocks and behaviour
The main draw of a dripstone cave is, unsurprisingly, dripstone. The mineral comes in block form and pointed form – a unique shape for the usually blocky sandbox game. Both forms of dripstone generate naturally in the caves alongside the usual suspects like stone, gravel, and diorite, and can be gathered for building purposes. Dripstone blocks form in clusters or even large pillars in some of the bigger caves.
Pointed dripstone can be gathered, and can be placed back down, either facing up or down – stalagmites or stalactites, respectively. Place more than one on top of each other for a longer spike.
Renewable Lava
Other than just being a unique decorative block though, pointed dripstone has another unique feature, and made lava renewable for the first time. By surrounding a lava source block with other blocks (any blocks, just to keep it from spreading), and placing a dripstone block and then a pointed dripstone directly underneath the lava, you cause the lava to slowly drip from the point. Place a cauldron underneath, and it will eventually fill with lava which you can remove with a bucket. You’ll never need to waste coal in your furnace again. Be warned though, it is a slow process.
Dripstone cave mobs
The following mobs spawn in the Minecraft Dripstone Caves:
- Zombies
- Spiders
- Drowned
- Zombie villagers
- Skeletons
- Creepers
- Endermen
- Witches
- Spider Jockeys
- Chicken Jockeys
- Slimes (only in slime chunks)
- Glow Squid
- Bats
Now you everything there is to know about this interesting biome, sharpen your tools and get exploring! With all those terrifying Minecraft mobs down there, you’ll want to make sure you’re properly equipped, so check out how to find Minecraft Netherite for your armour, and try some Minecraft enchantments on it, too.